The vocabulary according to Z. Kui

A glossary of terms and ideas.

A

Accelerationism

A political and social philosophy that advocates for the drastic intensification and rapid expansion of capitalist growth and technological development in order to hasten the collapse of the status quo and trigger radical societal transformation.

Accelerationism, left-wing
Advocates for pushing development to its absolute limits to break through capitalism and transition into a post-scarcity, automated socialist society. Championed by Nick Srnicek.
Accelerationism, right-wing
Seeks the rapid intensification of capitalist and technological forces to dissolve democratic institutions and enforce social fragmentation. Championed by Nick Land.

Auerbach, Frank

British painter (1931–2013) known for thickly textured, layered, expressive portraits.

C

Carbon removal

The process of capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere and storing it to reduce the effects of climate change.

Cheng, Ian

American artist who builds live simulation virtual worlds that keep running on their own.

See Infinite games

See Stupid art

Cosmotechnics

A concept by philosopher Yuk Hui arguing that technology is not universal but shaped by different cultural and cosmological traditions.

D

d²y/dt²

Mathematical notation for acceleration of a quantity (y).

See Social acceleration

Demon

A malevolent supernatural entity; in Chinese mythology, a harmful spirit associated with chaos, illness, or disruption of cosmic order.

G

Geomythology

The study of how geological events such as earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions are encoded and preserved in myths and oral traditions.

Giacometti, Alberto

Swiss sculptor and painter (1901–1966) known for his elongated, skeletal human figures that evoke themes of isolation, existential anxiety, and the fragility of human existence.

H

Hockey stick graph

A data visualization showing a long flat trend followed by a sharp upward rise; famously used in climate science to illustrate rising global temperatures, and in business to illustrate exponential growth of the largest technology companies.

I

Infinite games

From James Carse's philosophy: games played not to win but to continue play; contrasted with finite games that have a fixed end and winner.

J

Jaki/Xiegui

Demons trampled underfoot by Japanese and Chinese deities such as the Heavenly King door guardians, symbolising the subjugation of malevolent or chaotic forces.

K

Keeling curve

A graph showing the continuous rise of atmospheric CO₂ concentrations since 1958, measured at Mauna Loa Observatory by scientist Charles Keeling.

kgCO₂e (or kgCO₂eq)

the standardized unit of measurement used to quantify the overall climate warming impact of various greenhouse gases, combining them into a single metric based on their Global Warming Potential (GWP) compared to CO₂.

P

Palimpsest

A surface where the original content has been erased or scraped away and new lines added over it, though faint traces of the earlier layer remain visible. Visible layers of past versions beneath its current form.

"Beneath the graceful lines of the final drawings, glimpses of orange and gray are palimpsests—layers that reveal the painter’s visual thinking..."
- Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, exhibition on Pahari paintings, 2026

S

Stupid art

"[Pierre Huyghe] said this one thing to me: every artwork needs a coefficient of stupidity. And by that he didn't mean that it had to be stupid, but that it had to like, speak very clearly and plainly to the unconscious, it was important that art isn't like presents itself as smart, or trying to be smart, or trying to make you smarter...

And so this coefficient of stupidity really stuck with me that art is really powerful once you start talking to the unconscious, and the unconscious speaks in stupid terms."
- Ian Cheng, Art and Obsolescence podcast, 2021

"I'm not trying to spell out a story. I'm making you feel the painting - the reason you read the mark is because you also feel the mark."

- Julie Mehretu, Art21 interview

T

The peace of exhaustion

A term from French sociology thinker Paul Virilio describing a state of collective burnout and paralysis that results from the relentless acceleration of modern life.